The guard-forward comes to Beantown to check out his new digs.

BOSTON (AP) – Jumaine Jones would have teamed with LeBron James if he’d stayed with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Joining the Boston Celtics gave him a chance to do something even better: make the playoffs.

“It was kind of rough playing in Philadelphia two years, making the playoffs and going to the finals” in 2001 before spending the next two years in Cleveland, Jones said Tuesday after he was traded to Boston. “They’re getting better. It’s good be here and be a part of it.”

The Celtics sent J.R. Bremer and Bruno Sundov to the Cavaliers in a sign-and-trade deal to get Jones. The deal was all-but-final on Monday night, but the announcement was postponed while details were worked out.

Jones was in the Celtics’ Boston offices Tuesday, looking over the wall at photographs of the team’s greats. He smiled and gave a thumbs-up when he saw the picture of Danny Ainge, the Celtics’ head of basketball operations and Jones’ new boss.

Jones averaged just under 10 points in 28 minutes for Cleveland last season – both career highs – and had five rebounds per game as the Cavaliers finished tied for the worst record in the NBA. That helped them land James, the high school phenom who is the cornerstone of the team’s rebuilding efforts.

But in Boston, Jones will be teamed with two established stars, Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce.

“I guarded Paul most of the time last season, so I know it’s tough,” Jones said. “It will be good to play with him and not have to guard him.”

Bremer, a 6-2 Cleveland native, averaged 8.3 points and 2.6 assists and shot 35 percent from 3-point range in 64 games after joining Boston as an undrafted rookie from St. Bonaventure.

Sundov, a 7-2 Croatian, signed as a free agent with the Celtics last July but was used sparingly in 26 games. He averaged 1.2 points and 1.1 rebounds in 5.3 minutes.

This is the second time the Cavaliers have worked out a trade for Jones. He was shipped to Sacramento before last season, but the deal was rescinded when point guard Mateen Cleaves failed his physical.

AP-ES-07-29-03 1845EDT